Blue Bloods
by chittychittybangbang16
Summary: 18 year old Kory Anders' life played out like a movie. A horror movie. As if it weren't enough that she was part of an ancient vampire prophecy that would determine the fate of mankind, but she had to fall into a forbidden romance with the one man that would determine her survival or destroy all of humanity. Language, violence, adult content and all that good stuff. AU.
1. The Calling

_"I took your life. He gave you another one." Interview with the Vampire_

"Please." Kory begged her mother for what was probably the thousandth time that week.

Her mother shot her an annoyed glare from over the newspaper, and rolled her eyes from behind her glasses. She muttered something about youths in America before returning to her newspaper article on China's One Child Policy.

Kory pouted and returned to pondering her soggy bowl of Rice Krispies. The sun illuminated the large windows and shone through the sheer curtains of their enormous dining room. Kory followed Margot, the house keeper, with her large emerald eyes. Kory was what any person with partial vision would call gorgeous. She was a super model without a cat walk, though not nearly as confident or coordinated. She was fresh out of high school, or at least she would be come one' clock that afternoon.

"I fail to see how this is fair." Kory complained allowing her spoon to clank onto the table. "Have I not studied hard enough? I have not proved myself academically? I think I've earned just a little bit of freedom. I'm eighteen for God's sake."

"Kory watch your tome." her mother warned, lowering her paper. "And I'm not disagreeing with you, but allowing you to attend some- Keg party is simple out of the question."

"It's not a keg party." Kory reasoned. "Some kids from school rented a hous in the Valley and there's going to be a graduation party. It's going to be a lot of fun, and all of the kids from school are going. If I don't show up I can say goodbye to the little social life I have."

Her mother sighed. "If all the kids from school were getting together to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge would you want to go as well?"

"If it were fun." She mumbled under her breath.

Margot chuckled from where she was refilling Mrs. Ander's coffee mug. Kory scoffed at how unreasonable her mother was being, and her father backing her up! She had been coddled and protected her entire life. Countless hours she spent at the library or studying, zero spent at a football game or a school dance. Hell she skipped out on junior prom because she had SATs the next day. This was the can't miss event of the century, and her last chance to break away from her book worm image. There was no way she could miss it.

Kory's sister Komi had been the it girl during her days at Sacred Heart Preparatory School. There was not one boy, girl, teacher, or nun who didn't know her name. Everyone knew it wasn't a party unless Komi was there. Kory was, to say the least, tired of living in her sister's shadow. Plus it was her last chance to impress Roy Harper, whom she had been pining for, for the last four years.

"Speaking of which," Mrs. Anders said glancing at her wrist watch. "If you don't leave now you're going to be late. It would be inappropriate for the valedictorian to be late to graduation."

Kory sighed. "Tara is picking me up." she answered bitterly.

Kory's phone suddenly began to vibrate on the table. Tara had texted that she was waiting outside. Kory pushed in her chair and stomped up the stairs. Kory grabbed the garment bag that held her cap and gown and examined herself one more time in the full length mirror. She straightened the hem of her sun dress and ran her fingers through her auburn hair. She could hear Tara honking the honk from outside. Kory rolled her eyes before jogging down the stairs and out the door.

Tara waved to her from the driver's seat of her Jaguar convertible. Tara wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and had spent more night partying than doing anything else in high school. After showing up to her final exams with a hangover and wretchedly horrible SAT scores she had been (as they referred in the upper class of Jump City) banished to a (gasp) state* school.

Kory slid into the passenger seat and tossed her garment bag into the back. "Hey, Kory." Tara said pleasantly. Her face with anxious with anticipation. "So?"

Kory shook her head. "She said no."

Tara sucked her teeth. "Your parents don't expect you to have any fun anytime soon do they?"

"Not in this life time anyways."

Tara began to back out of the driveway and sped onto the main street. Kory typically hated having the roof of the car down, especially on the high way. It was windy and freezing, and always ruined her hair. But today was the exception. It was a sunny and warm May day in suburbs of Jump City, California. She was graduating high school. Today she would enjoy the freedom of a topless car. It may be the only freedom she would see for a while.

"You should go to the party anyways." Tara said as she turned onto the turnpike.

In Tara's world there was no such word as no. To her "no" meant don't let me find out. She had no regards for what her parents or anyone else thought, and advocated that, that was how Kory should live her life as well. If only she were that bold.

"I'd be grounded for so long my grandchildren would have to finish out the punishment for me." Kory yelled over the howl of the wind.

Tara shrugged. "So what? You're going to college all the way on the east coast. Before you waste four more years of your life buried in a chemistry book you should take these last three months having the most fun possible. Those Brown kids are going to think you're no fun."

Kory shrugged indifferently. She had a point. Come August she was moving all the way across the country, where she would have to focus on her studies even more so than she already was. This was her last chance to make an impression on her classmates. Tara smiled. She knew she would come around.

* * *

Kory Anders

Valedictorian.  
Class Rank: 1

Academic Achievements:  
Kory Ander completed a combination of Honors, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate classes.

G.P.A: 4.4

Extra-Curricular Achievements:

Amnesty International Club  
Debate Team  
Freshman Executive Committee  
Junior Executive Committee  
Key Club  
Latin Club  
National Honor Society  
National Merit Scholar  
President of International Club  
Senior Executive Committee  
Sophomore Executive Committee  
Student Council  
Varsity Swimming and Diving Team  
Varsity Volleyball Team

Kory's cheeks flushed when she saw the pamphlet for the first time after the ceremony was over. The last thing she needed was having all her business put out there, especially after her nerve wracking speech. She stuttered at the beginning and finished rather abruptly. Somehow, in her humiliation, she managed to make it across the stage without tripping. The rest of the ceremony went smoothly. It took about two hours to graduate all three hundred students in the Senior class and by the time it was over the weather was sweltering. People were using the pamphlets to fan themselves and leaving as soon as possible.

Dean McCormick was swooning over Kory to her parents, hence the delay. Kory was standing in midst of the clutter of white fold chairs, that had been abandoned as soon as the ceremony had ended. Her cap was tucked under her arm and her gown was already unzipped exposing her hefty bosom and white sun dress to the world. She stood staring at the pamphlet and the two pages decided to her like some sort of mural. She wished the yearbook committee had warned her before publishing for all of her classmates, their family, and God to see.

It made her seem...pretentious.

She felt a sudden hand grasp her shoulder. Kory gasped in surprise and turned around to see Roy Harper smiling at her with that dashing smirk. Her heart lept. "Hello, Roy."

"Hey." he said casually. "Cool speech."

"Thanks." she said quietly. She could feel the blood rushing to her face again.

"What's going on with your sister? I heard she left UCLA?" he asked raising his perfectly manicured eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah. She decided to leave." And by "decided to leave" she meant to got kicked out. "Komi wanted to... explore her other options." And by "explore her other options" she meant she was in rehab.

Roy nodded. Kory suspected he was only partially listening. He leaned into her. She could feel his eyes burning into her green ones. Oh the way that adorable tussled red hair flowed just so in the wind. Kory's heart was beating against her ribcage. Roy took her hand in his.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you." he said matter-of-factly. He suddenly dropped her hand. Kory's stomach lurched. "Tonight at the party. You're going right?"

"Oh course!" Kory lied immediately.

He smiled coolly. He told her he'd see her there and they would talk. A sense of excitement built up inside Kory. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed in Tara's number. "Tara, I need you to pick me up tonight."

* * *

The mall wasn't exactly Kory's scene. There was low foot traffic as it was a Wednesday afternoon. She felt lost among the short dress that practically hung to her naval and revealed a scandalous amount of leg. In her eighteen years of life she had never worn anything less than three fingers above her knee, and that was always paired with tights and a church coat. She sighed as she carefully placed the dress back on the rack.

Suddenly she shivered, and got the eerie feeling that she was being watched. She looked up. There were only two more customers in the small boutique and they were too transfixed by the endless pairs of glass platinum heels in the back to pay any attention to Kory. The only visible employee was actively disengaged and was currently leaning over the counter reading a magazine. Kory shook her head. The copious amounts of cologne that had been sprayed in the overpriced SoCal store she had just been in. She adjusted her purse as she left the store once again empty handed. She looked up and nearly started.

Standing across the mall courtyard in front of the water fountain was a young boy. He couldn't have been more than eight years old, but there was something indefinitely odd about him. He was very handsome, much more so than most kids his age. Finishing school be damned Kory couldn't help but stare. He had a head full of dirty blonde hair and was as pale as the moon. His clothes looked outdated, much too prim for a boy of this generation. Kory's first thought was that the boy was being abused and locked away from the sun by his negligent parents.

The boy didn't bother pretending he wasn't staring at Kory from a distance. It unnerved her for a reason she couldn't understand. Kory fumbled pretending to check her phone while she fast walked away. She shook the encounter out of her head and tried to focus on the fact that she had less than four hours to find something to wear and get ready for the party. She bobbed in and out of a few more stores without much success. With three hours to spare she bought a new pair of sunglasses, mascara, a headband, and a tube of lipstick. In other words nothing that was going to help her impress Roy tonight. She sighed dejectedly while she made her way back to her car in the parking garage. Suddenly she felt her phone vibrating in her purse. She scrambled to find it at the bottom of her purse, only to find a text message from Tara saying she'd be at her place a little later than was agreed.

"Excuse me," a small voice no less than three feet in front of Kory said.

Kory yelped and jumped sending her small purchases sprawling onto the ground. Kory clutched her chest and stared at the owner of the voice who had nearly just given her a heart attack. It was the small boy from earlier. He looked a lot paler up close than from a distance. She noted he also had extremely dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept a day in his life. Kory concluded that more than likely this kid was definitely being maltreated, but his face conveyed no emotion at all.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to frighten you." He apologized.

Kory took a deep breath and scooped up her fallen things while quickly examined her new sunglasses for scratches. "It's okay honey. Are you alright? Where are your parents?"

"I have to give you a message, Ms. Anders." He said completely ignoring her questions.

Kory was taken aback and frightened all at the same time.

"How'd do you know my name?" She snapped her voice losing patience.

He blinked his odd, bright amethyst eyes completely unfazed by her sudden change in tone.

"I need to give you a message, Ms. Anders." He repeated.

He grabbed her hand and she gasped as the coldness of his fingers. "When the hunter is away the animals will hunt."

Kory was too stunned to say anything. The boy unsure by her lack of response if she had actually heard him or understood, so he repeated. "When the hunter is away the animals will hunt."

She angrily yanked her hand out his. She felt silly she had actually felt frightened for clearly this kid was pulling some kind of prank on her and she was not in the mood.

"I don't know who put you up to this but it isn't funny."

The boy remained composed. "Don't go out tonight."

Kory scowled and was about to tell this boy things no child that age should hear from a grown adult, when they interrupted by her cell phone again. Kory tore her eyes off the strange boy long enough to see that she had a missed call from her mother. When she looked up again the boy had vanished. She ignored the jittery sensation in her stomach and began to walk back to her car while replaying the strange encounter in her head. As she unlocked the doors to her father's Mercedes and determined that not only was the boy abused but he had mental problems as well or perhaps was that was some sort of bizarre cry for help. She wondered if she should alert mall security or call the police or something, but the whole thing was so strange she wasn't confidence in the least bit that she would they would believe her. She stuffed her small purchases in her bag which he casually tossed into the passenger seat. It slid off of the seat and onto the floor.

Kory cursed. Could this day get any worse! She scooped up the contents of her bag and noticed a silver envelope that had definitely not been there before. Curiously she figured it. It was shimmery and had a red seal on it. Kory hesitated before sliding her thumb underneath of the seal. Inside was a perfectly folded piece of parchment paper with her name scribbled in perfect calligraphy. She lifted her paper and what was written on the back could only be described as a warning.

BEWARE WHITE RABBIT. RUN.

* * *

Kory was completely disturbed by the events of that afternoon. She drove home in quickly in somewhat of a daze. The letter had been stuffed back into its envelope and banished into the depths of the stationary drawer of her desk. After what went down at the mall she wasn't positive going out was the smart thing to do. Even if she didn't believe a word the lying, crazy kid at the mall had said someone was following her around, breaking into her car, and leaving ambiguous...warnings? Threats? She didn't know.

She called Tara as soon as she got home to inform her that she wasn't really feeling up to a party tonight and to go on without her. To which Tara replied that Kory was indeed chicken shit and didn't know how to have fun. After a half hour of coaxing and begging Kory agreed to go but only for an hour.

Here she was applying the last few touch ups to her face and preparing for Tara to arrive any minute now. "Where did you say you were going tonight?" Ms. Anders asked Kory as she stuffed her cell phone and a tube of lip gloss into her purse.

Kory was dressed in a very nice dress suit and blouse. No reason to be suspicious. "Brown alumni are holding a special meeting to promote the Greek life and I was considering pledging in the fall."

It was the lie she'd come up with one her way home. Her parents had wanted to take her to dinner, but she had suddenly been invited to a college conference for incoming freshman and her attendance was imperative. They'd celebrate later. Kory said goodbye to her parents and left without offering them too much details. She would practice her lines for later, but for now she was going to enjoy herself for the first time for...ever really. Kory climbed into Tara's car, it was already dark outside and the Valley was about a half an hour out of the way. Kory waved to her parent from the passenger side for reassurance.

Tara pulled out of the drive way. As soon as her house was out of sight Kory pulled off her jacket and the rest of her clothes. She had stuffed a tiny black dress and high heels into her purse. She tossed her other clothes into the backseat.

It was a hybrid between a frat party and a rave. The temperature was stifling due to the tightly condensed bodies that packed the place from wall to wall. There was a DJ stationed on a small stage at the front. Kids that Kory recognized, and many whom she didn't, were gyrating drunkenly to the latest club anthem. Their scant clothing clung to their sweat drenched bodies. The music was pulsating and vibrating off the walls and floors. The room was dark sans the blinding strobe lights that flashed sporadically from the ceiling.

It took Kory quite some time to make her way upstairs. She had, had no luck finding Roy and after forty-five minutes she had given up. She had been groped by an unknown assailant, her toes stepped on twice, nearly vomited on, and her hair was had lost its battle with the humidity. She was done and in retrospect this had been a stupid plan to begin with. She was going to purposely run into Roy and then what? He was going to profess his undying love for her?

Kory texted Tara to meet her outside, but after ten minutes there was no response. Kory groaned in annoyance after a quick inspection of a lone Solo cup that she had found sitting on the mantle she stood in line at the keg. She downed the drink and demanded the guy in charge of the keg pour her another cup.

After a few more cups Kory began to feel herself loosen up a bit. Not enough to impair her judgment, just enough so that the sad state of her hair and dress and the fact that Tara was nowhere to be found ceased to bother her. She made her way into the makeshift dance floor and grinded to the beat of the music as much as the dense space would allow her. She felt a stranger's fingertips grip her hips, and she allowed him to sway against her. She actually wasn't having a terrible time.

Her eyes flashed towards the stage. Everyone seemed to be having a good time in their drunken stupor. Her eyes searched the room for nothing in particular. An evidently heavily intoxicated girl was being held up by an unseen man. The way he moved with her had Kory hypnotized. He was of average height but good looking from what Kory could tell under the frantic lighting. His pale blue eyes seemed to light up in the dark. Suddenly his eyes flashed red. Kory stood half fascinated half horrified as he leaned his head down and bit into the flesh of the girl.

Kory couldn't help but watch not positive of what she was seeing. Her eyebrows furrowed. The girl's body slumped to the ground. The stranger's posture straightened. Blood trailed down his jaws and onto the front of his shirt. Kory's eyes widened.

He suddenly stiffened and began to smell the air around him. His face was struck by a sort of pained hunger. He head snapped to side and his piercing red eyes connected with Kory's frightened green ones. His lips turned into a sinister smile.

Kory was frozen. No one around seemed to notice what was happening, even though it he was fifteen feet away from her. It all happened so suddenly. She could only see bits of what was happening from the wild strobe lights. The man seemed to be transforming. His back hunched with an unnatural sharpness and long talons appeared to sprout from his long white fingers. He was standing in a crouched position. His feet jumped up onto the shoulders of a nearby boy and his teeth tore into his neck.

Finally people were beginning to notice that something wasn't right. Screams began to break out and people started charging towards the exits. Kory who still in shock didn't register the immediate danger she was in. She watched as he- it began to massacre anyone near it. She got a hold of herself and joined the crowd stampeding towards the exits. Kory stumbled on her heels and was nearly trampled by the mob when a some good samaritan hoisted her onto her feet. She nearly fell again when she finally made it outside. Throngs of people rushed past her screaming and running like hell towards their vehicles and towards the woods.

Kory searched frantically for Tara. Suddenly something flew like a bullet from the upstairs window. A disembodied head along with a rain of glass fell onto the ground and rolled towards Kory. She let out a petrified scream before racing towards Tara's car. She grabbed the door handle to find it locked.

"C'mon, c'mon!" she urged the door.

It was then she remembered that Tara had left her car keys on top of the front wheel. She ran her hand over the dirty tire before feeling the cold, chunky set. She stuffed the keys into the door and pulled herself into the driver's seat. Her breathing was heavy and panicked.

A body appeared out of nowhere and smashed into Kory's door. She screamed. The stranger began banging on the window begging Kory to unlock the doors. Before she had a chance to react his body was forced against the door. His head he yanked clean off, as the creature pummeled his body to the ground. Kory screamed uncontrollably as she pulled herself into the passenger side. She forced the door open and took off into the woods.

She tripped over her heels again and scrambled to unclasp her shoes before taking off again barefoot. Her adrenaline in full swing her bare feet slapped against the heavy mud and cracked beneath twigs. She wasn't sure how long she had been running, but there was no sign of the creature. She leaned over a tree to catch her breath. It was at that moment that she realized how truly alone she really was. Once her heart rate had returned almost to normal she pulled herself up knowing she wouldn't be safe for long.

Kory turned towards a passage of tree and there in the clearance was the dark figure of the creature. It had returned to its human form except for the glowing red eyes and blood covering the entire front it. It seemed calm almost placid, as if it were just waiting for her. `

Terror gripped Kory's heart. She geared to the left and scrambled up a small hill, pulled herself over a freeway ramp, and her bare feet landed on the hard concrete. A car sped out of nowhere. Kory waved her arms frantically.

"HELP! PLEASE!" She screamed.

The car didn't even slow down as it zipped by her. Fear clutched her heart and tears began to well in her eyes. Her breathing gave way to frantic gasps. There was a growling behind her. She turned to see the creature thirty feet behind her. She fruitlessly began to trot in the other direction, crying freely now. The creature walked slowly back towards her. There was no need to hurry as her death seemed imminent. The creature stopped and bowed down into a crouching position.

Kory suddenly felt an enormous weight on her back. She felt herself hit the hard ground with an oomph and her chin scraped against the concrete. The thing was on top of her. Kory's body quivered as she let forth a few helpless sobs. It seemed to laugh breathlessly at her. It leaned over and brushed her hair from the side of her neck. She could feel his hot breath and razor sharp teeth against her neck. Kory braced herself for the inevitable.

There was the sound of tires screeching against pavement and moving very quickly in their direction. They creature looked up and was blinded by headlight. The creature reluctantly but quickly relented. The oncoming car screeched to a halt a few feet ahead of Kory. The passenger seat swung open nearly missing hitting Kory in the head.

"Get in." A calm but beautiful and lyrical voice told her.

Stranger danger be damned, Kory's arm reached up and weakly pulled herself in.

A pale, raven haired woman was at the wheel. Her piercing violet eyes were focused on the creature ahead of them. It seemed to be angrily sneering at her.

"Wait here." The woman said without looking at Kory.

Kory's eyes widened and she involuntarily grabbed onto her arm. Her hand shot back immediately. Her skin was so told it actually burned.

Kory tried to use her words this time. "You can't go out there! He'll hurt you!"

The woman didn't say anything. Her face conveyed no emotion. Her head slowly turned towards Kory. Her eyes lit up and become so piercing Kory started.

"Relax" she said. "I will be fine."

Kory felt instantly more relaxed, almost hypnotized. The women exited the car. Kory watched as she calmly made her way over to the creature. It seemed flinch at her presence and then began to growl. Kory watched transfixed as the woman began to speak to it, but her words were inaudible over the roar of the engine. It sneered again before going into another pounce position before taking off into the woods. The woman walked back to the car and without a word began to drive.

Kory for the first time in her entire life was completely speechless. Her entire body was shaking violently .She rocked herself back and forth.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." She said to herself over and over.

Kory's heart rate was beginning to return to normal. She looked out the window. The passing buildings and trees sped by in unattainable blurs. It was then she realized how fast they were driving. Kory's eyes glanced at the speedometer. The needle bounced between 110 and 120 mph. The woman's eyes flashed towards Kory, and as if she were reading her mind the car started to slow down.

They drove for a while and eventually were out of the remote area and back onto the main highway. Kory began to observe the woman. She was mind bogglingly beautiful. Like the type of beautiful that made you never want to look in a mirror again. She had raven color hair that was so dark it appeared almost purple. Her unblemished, freckle free skin was the color of milk, and those eyes...

Kory cleared her throat awkwardly. "Uh, thanks for saving me." Her voice was still shakey. The woman didn't respond. "I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't give it." She said simply.

Kory sighed unsure if there was even a point to trying to start small talk. This lady was obviously not much of a conversationalist.

"You should not have gone out tonight." She stated suddenly glancing at Kory. "Is that not what you were told?"

Kory bristled. That was the second time she had been told that today. "Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on? First some weird kid told me not to go out, then I was attacked by some- some- some thing! And now I'm being driven to God knows where with a stranger. What is happening?"

The woman's grip on the steering wheel tightened and her eyes flashed with anger. She didn't say anything else for the rest on the car ride. Kory sat nervously in the passenger's seat until she began to recognize the scenery. They were close to her house.

"I understand that you are scared." The woman said out of nowwhere. "Don't be. We are here to protect you."

"We?" Kory said as they turned into her driveway. "What's going on?"

"It will all make sense soon." she said ambiguously.

"When?" Kory asked tightly.

"Soon." She repeated evenly as they arrived in front of her darkened house. "We'll be in contact with you soon. Don't go out at night and wait for further instructions."

With that she reached across Kory's lap and yanked the passenger seat open. Kory slowly climbed out of the car and turned to take one final look at the beautiful, mysterious woman. Her mouth twitched slightly.

"Raven Roth." she said lowly.

Before could react the woman- Raven Roth- grabbed the door handle and slammed the car door shut, but she didn't drive off. Kory, who was quite overwhelmed and taken aback, quickly turned around and half ran to the front door. She locked the door right behind her. She pressed her forehead against the door and listened to the sound of tires crunching underneath gravel. She let out a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding before racing upstairs and locking her bedroom door behind her.

Without taking time to take off her now sweat saturated dress, wash her face, or do any of her usual bedtime rituals she climbed into bed and pulled her blankets over her head, where she remained for the rest of the night.

* * *

There here is the deal. I'm in a dark place again, so I thought I would resurrect this story I wrote back in 2008. It has undergone serious changes but if you want to read the original chapter it can be found under my story "Unwritten".

*There is nothing wrong with going to a state school. I go to a state school.


	2. The River

_"Hold my hand. Oh baby it's a long way down to the bottom of the River." Botton of the River_

Kory awoke with a start to the sound of light knocking at her door.

Sleep had been an unobtainable goal for Kory that night. She had spent the entire night sweating underneath of a blanket that was much too warm for California this time of year. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep. She whipped the blanket off and nearly tripped over discarded clothes on her way to the door.

"Kory" came her mother's voice before more knocking.

"Just a minute" she replied tossing on a bathrobe and opening the door. "Yes?"

Her mother was taken aback by the sharpness in her normally respectful daughter's voice. She chose to ignore it.

She laid out her hand, and in it was Kory's cellphone. "I found this laying outside on the front steps. You need to start being more responsible with your things."

Kory grumbled a thanks and "I will be" before shutting the door in her mother's face. She had almost forgotten about the events of the previous night or at least convinced herself that it had all been a terrible dream. She distinctly remembered dropping her phone when she was hailing ass out of that warehouse. The fresh crack across the screen was proof of that.

Her phone vibrated to life and she immediately answered it.

"Kory?" said Tara's voice. "Thank God you're okay. I tried calling you last night after what happened. I was so worried about you."

"Last night? That really happened? I was hoping that was a bad dream." Kory said equally relieved to hear her friend alive and well.

Tara's voice sounded somewhat muffled. "No. The fire department had to go and put the fire out and the whole house is destroyed. The news said that like ten people died."

Kory's brows furrowed. "Fire? What fire?"

"I don't know Kory I was really sloshed last night. It's all over the news though. I guess a fire broke out during the party and a ton of people got trapped inside."

Kory was only half listening at this point. There was no fire, those people were attacked. She saw that thing that killed them and so did dozens of other people. She couldn't unsee those terrible red eyes. What was going on?

"- I don't remember what happened, but my car is all fucked up and my parents are pissed." Tara's voice snapped Kory from her reverie. "So yeah when I couldn't get through to you last night I was so worried and I just had to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine" Kory said wearily taking a seat at her desk. "I'm glad you're okay too. Listen Tara I have to go but I'll try to call you later today okay."

Kory flipped up her laptop and did a quick Google search for Valley house party. A few thousand hits came up, mostly from news reports about a violent fire that broke out early that morning during a house party, killing at least eight and wounding two dozen others. There were even interviews from witnesses about how sudden the fire was and vague recounts about what happened.

Kory closed her computer shocked. She could vividly remember the creature transforming on the dance floor. She remembered its red eyes and its sharp teeth on her neck. She remembered! Laying casually on the floor next to her vanity was the letter that creepy kid had given her. More proof!

Everything felt very dreamlike. It was like it all happened and yet it didn't happen.

Kory was determined to prove her sanity. She took a quick shower, threw on some clothes, forgoed breakfast, and headed into town to do some investigating. The only clues she had was a name, Raven Roth, a letter with a seal, and a description of the car she had been driving. She began with the obvious.

Her first instinct was to go straight to the Department of Public Records. It was amazing how many Raven Roths lived in the state of California. The one she met looked like she was no older than in her late teens. She filtered her search to under age twenty and then in the Beverly Hills area. The search found just a few, but none of their records matched the car description.

Kory traveled to the library. If being born wealthy had taught Kory anything it had been to recognize a family seal when she saw one. The letter had a crest at the top of the stationary. Kory flipped through a database of known crests until she found that one she was looking for. It was pretty traditional except for a raven bird in the center. The database did not provide much information except that the crest had belonged to an English family, the Warrens, up until the mid-nineteenth century.

_That's strange_, Kory thought.

She printed out the page, before doing another Google search for the Warren family. There was not much information. The Warrens had been a very wealthy family and distant relative and King George III. They apparently amassed a majority of their wealth during the Industrial Revolution, most of the family had been thought to have died shortly after.

It didn't connect. She had failed to find Raven Roth and the crest thus far didn't connect to her. Kory suddenly got an idea. It was a long shot but she had nothing to lose. In the public person database she searched 'Raven Roth Warren'. She almost jumped out of her seat when one search result came up. She immediately clicked on it and waited impatiently while the page loaded. What was there was startling.

There was a black and white photograph of a young woman standing by a window looking passively, even unhappily, into the camera. The woman held a startlingly resemblance to Raven, although maybe a little younger. The dress she was wearing was conservative. Full length, beaded sleeves and neckline and it reached all the way to the floor. Her hair was pulled back and she wasn't smiling. The photo looked very out-of-date.

_How can this be?_

Kory clicked on the next record. When the page was fully loaded she gasped audibly earning a glare from the person at the computer next to her. It was a death certificate. It was a death certificate dating back to over one hundred years ago.

**Standard Certificate of Death  
Registered No. 552  
Date of Death: June 16, 1912**

Kory stared completely dumbfounded. She switched back between the photo and the death certificate. The woman in the picture was the Raven Roth she had met last night, this she was sure. But how could that be when this certificate claimed that this woman lived and died over one hundred years ago?

Kory printed out what she had found and brought it back to her house. She examined and reexamined everything for hours. The death certificate had been most informative. She had learned that Raven Roth had been born in Eureka, Nevada to a Tristan and Angela Roth. She later moved to Carson City where she died.

That was it. It all made sense, and yet it didn't. It was plausible that the Raven Roth that Kory had met last night was a descendent of the Raven Roth who had died one- hundred one years ago. That would explain the uncanny resemblance and the name. Kory wanted so desperately to believe it, but the more she looked at that picture the less able she was to credit it. Her gut told her the woman in the picture and the woman she met last night were the same woman.

A sudden pounding on the door startled Kory. Night had fallen and her parents left for a business conference for the weekend. Maybe Komi had bailed from rehab again. It would certainly be like her to do something like that. Kory hesitantly left her room and slowly made her way down the stairs. The pounding on the door was getting louder and was suddenly paired with frantic doorbell rings.

"Who- who's there?" Kory tried to sound brave from the safety of her staircase.

"Please, help me" said a muffled but panicked woman's voice. "I was just carjacked. Please help me, he has a gun!"

Kory's heart melted slightly, but she was still unconvinced. She remained where she was, until the woman started pounding on the door again.

"Please help me! I'm afraid he'll come looking for me. Please let me in!"

Kory found enough courage to approach the front door. She pulled back the curtains to the side window. She could she a slightly battered woman looking frazzled on her front porch. She reached for the doorknob but stopped. Raven's warning was still fresh in her mind and after the events of last night she wasn't quite ready to ignore her instincts.

"I- please step away from the door." She said.

"I need help!" Her voice was starting to sound angry.

"I'm calling the police. Calm down and step away from the door." Kory warned.

"Just open the door."

"No!" Kory screamed as she quickly backed away from the door.

The pounding became less frantic and more enraged. "Open the door you bitch!"

She began to thrash wildly against the door while screaming vulgarities. Her voice changed into a demonic growl. The door shook violently barely hanging onto the lock and hinges. The hinges began to loosen. Kory stood absolutely petrified. Her mind told her to run but her body refused to move. Her eyes wildly scanned the room in search of a weapon. Her father collected guns, mostly antiques, but they were locked away in the basement. She grabbed a nearby icepick just in time for the door to fall off the hinges and land with a thud in the front hall.

The women stood slightly hunched over, breathing heavy and red eyes glowing.

Kory wielded the ice pick threateningly.

"Stay back!"

The women let out a low growly. She began her words slowly. "Let. Me. In."

"Get the fuck away from me!" Kory yelled thrusting the icepick forward.

The demon woman tried again. "If you don't let me the fuck in, I swear on your life I will cut your fucking head off you cu-"

It happened so quickly Kory didn't see it happen. One minute the demon woman was standing in her doorway shouting obscenities, the next minute she was howling in pain, with a large piece of wood sticking through her chest. Gray veins erupted across her moon pale skin before she completely dissolved into a puddle of blood on her front steps. Kory immediately began to scream blue murder.

Kory's wide eyes stared at pool of blood and other internal organs. Her head lifted and met a pair of ice blue eyes standing in the place the demon woman had been standing. Her blood covered his gorgeous albeit tired looking face and his hand gripped a wooden stake.

His eyes met hers, and the corners of his mouth turned into a smile.

"You must be Kory." His lyrical and beautiful voice said.

Kory opened her mouth but no words came out. He stepped to the side of the person puddle.

"Please don't be frightened. Raven sent me to look after you." He explained.

Even in her current situation Kory couldn't help but notice how exceptionally good looking this man was. He was tall, dark haired, a square chin that made five o' clock shadow look good.

Kory tried again to find her voice. "How do you know my name? You..wh-…stay away from me."

"Kory," he said in a serious tone. "You need to invite me in."

She looked at him incredulously. "Are you insane? I'm not inviting you in. You could be one of those- those- those things!"

He face remained emotionless. "I'm not going to hurt you Kory. I'm here to protect you, I promise. I give you my word that no harm will come to you, but you have to invite me in."

"Go fuck yourself!"

His beautiful eye narrowed slightly. "Kory, asking permission is merely a formality. Please don't make me do something…impolite."

She considered this for a moment. After being attacked two nights in a row she by no means wanted to invite this strange man into her home. However he did say he was with Raven, her previous savior and he did just save her from becoming demon chow. Most importantly she was sure if he had to enter without her permission. She didn't want to find out what his definition of "impolite" was.

She looked at the bloodied pile on her mother's once impeccably clean tile floor and then back at him.

"Fine" she said tightly. "You can come in."

Wordlessly he wiped his shoes on the welcome mat before stepping over the blood and into her house. He looked around and examined the front entrance.

"This is a nice place you've got." He said casually.

"Uh, thanks." Kory replied.

"So Kory" he said taking a step towards her. He stopped when he noticed her taking a step back.

A look of offense flashed across his face but he quickly recovered.

"Would you mind getting me a wet towel? I would hate to get blood on any of these expensive looking carpets." He said.

Kory's eyes narrowed. "Sure" she said. "I guess."

Kory slowly backed into the hallway her eyes never leaving him until she was far enough away. Once she got into the kitchen her brained scrambled for what to do. The closet exit to the outside world was on the other side of the house. She picked up the cordless phone sitting on the counter and attempted to dial 9-1-1 only to be told that phone service was temporarily unavailable. She cursed under her breath. Kory slipped the ice pick into the inside of her jeans, grabbed a wet towel, and reluctantly headed back to the front hall.

She returned to find the broken door in its original place completely un-tampered with and the pool of blood gone. She stared at the glistening floor completely perplexed. The man said nothing.

"So who are you?" She asked bluntly as she handed him the towel.

He wiped the blood from his face and hands, before thanking her. He took off his blood splattered jacket before hanging in the hallway and heading into the living room.

"My name is Richard." He said taking a seat on the couch. "You may call me Dick."

Kory followed him into the living room and stood a safe distance away from him.

"You…you said Raven sent you right? How do you know me?"

He shrugged. "Raven told us about you."

"How does she know about me?"

"She has her ways." He said simply. "I've learned not to question her."

"And who exactly is 'us'."

His jaw snapped shut. He didn't answer immediately.

He sighed. "All I can tell you, for now, is that we are part of an ancient order chosen and trained to perform duties that our…leaders need us to perform. Right now the assignment is to protect you."

"Protect me?" Kory said annoyed, even angry. "Protect me from what?"

"I can't say. Not yet anyways."

A million questions ran through her mind. _What was the thing? Why are they attacking me? What is the order? What do they want with me? What are you? _

She filtered out the trivial ones and the ones she wasn't sure he would actually answer. She thought it was best if she started off with safe questions and then lead him into revealing something.

"So," she started slowly. "Can you tell me about the order? Or is that sacred information as well?"

His mouth twitched before he smiled. "Raven would have my ass reamed, if I told you anything right now. Pardon my language." He frowned. "They call us the Blue Bloods."

She said nothing. She noticed him the damp towel laying limply in his hands.

"I can get you a new one." She offered reaching for the towel.

Her fingers brushed against him knuckles. His skin was ice cold, just like Raven's was. In surprise Kory dropped the towel to the floor and she gasped. Dick winced at her reaction.

Kory's back straightened. "You…you aren't human are you?"

Dick stood up so quickly it made Kory gasp. He held his hands up in reproach.

"Kory, allow me to explain." He offered.

"Stay back!" She exclaimed before bolting down the hall.

She raced up the stairs and into the nearest room and locked the door behind her. It was completely dark and the sound of her heavy breathing filled the room. Her hand frantically searched for the light switch.

She stiffened as she felt a pair of cold hands grab her waist. She spun around to come face to face with Dick. Her face instantly melted into horror. She grabbed the icepick from the inside of her jeans and jammed it into the side of his neck.

Dick immediately let go off her. He stumbled back in surprise. A river of blue looking blood trailed down the side of his neck. Dick's hand reached up and yanked the icepick from his pierced trachea. More blood spilled. Kory watched in fascination and horror as the punctured skin reattached before her very eyes.

Kory gasped, her back flattened against the door. She yanked the door open and scrambled back into the hallway. She raced down the stairs, tangling her feet half way down, and tumbling headfirst into the front hallway. She landed with an umph. Kory pulled herself up and wrenched the front door open.

Standing in the front of her house was a hoard of six or seven red eyed demon creatures. As soon as she opened the door their heads snapped in her direction and let out a hungry growl. Kory gasped and slammed the door shut.

As she began to back away from the door she backed into the large body of Dick. He gently wrapped his hands around her arms and led her intensely shivering body back into the living room and sat her down on the couch.

He didn't say anything to her, he just pulled a cellphone out of his pocket and punched in a number.

"…Well hello to you too" He said to the person on the other line. "Yes…yes, like six or seven…I could- absolutely…not so well. She has that startled, scared look in her eyes." He said turning back to Kory. "I think it's a good idea, I think she's thinking of running. Um,hm…um,hm….um,hm. Well if that's what you think is best I will honor the request…what should I tell her?...Ok."

With that he hung up the phone.

"Kory," She jumped when he turned around. "I'm going to get rid of those things trespassing on your private property okay. Can I trust that you will remain right where you are until I get back?"

Kory automatically nodded. Without a word he left. From the outside Kory could hear nauseating and gruesome sounds. Splattering against gravel and pained yowls. Dick returned moments later. He quickly entered the living room and coyly slipped the wooden stake into the inside of his jacket.

He lifted Kory up by her arms and led her into the hallway. He draped her sweatshirt over her shoulders and ushered outside.

"C'mon. We're going for a little drive."

A slick black car similar to the one Raven had been driving was waiting in the front. Dick opened the passenger side door and lowered Kory in. He slipped into the driver's seat and drove off.

Kory's head was throbbing.

Things like this only happened in the movies. Horror movies. This very situation reminded her greatly of a unit she had done during a Mythology literature summer course she had taken a while ago. Attractive, seemingly otherworldly creatures that roamed the streets at night. Their skin was cold as death. As creatures that were neither dead nor alive they were cursed to walk the mortal world feeding off the flesh of the living, to nourish their insatiable bloodlust.

In Scandinavian folklore they were known as Huldra. According to the _Alphabet of Ben Sira _they were called succubus. To everyone else they were known as…

Dick sudden voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes," he said as if he were reading her mind. "As a matter of fact, I am a vampire."

* * *

Bare with me, I wrote this in like two days. Please review. I'm not sensitive and I can handle some constructice criticism.


	3. The Prophecy

Disclaimer: Does anyone still do disclaimers anymore?

* * *

_"Keep your secrets. Keep your silence. It is a better gift than truth." Queen of the Damned. _

Kory said nothing for a long time. Dick kindly allowed her time to process this new information as he kept his eyes steadfastly to the road.

"Vampires aren't real." Kory said weakly. "This is all just a dream. A horrible, horrible dream."

Dick chuckled. "After everything you've seen in the last twenty-four hours what I just told you seems completely illogical?"

Kory got quiet again. They spent the next ten minutes in silence save for the rolling of the car and Dick wondering out loud if they should stop for gas soon.

"So," Kory braved after a while. "Is Raven a…"

"Vampire?" Dick finished. "Yes."

"And that thing that attacked me yesterday night?"

"Vampire." He said simply.

"And those things that were at my house?"

"Vampires, all of them."

It was silent again. Kory sat inconspicuously pinching her arm, trying to wake herself up from this horrible nightmare.

She was afraid of asking more questions. She decided to turn her mind of and pay attention to the rapidly passing highway signs and the speedometer. She could see that Dick and Raven had the same need for speed, or maybe it just a vampire thing. Kory shivered. It was a tiny motion, barely noticeable to most but Dick caught it out of the corner of his eye. He reached forward he turned the heat on low.

Kory grumbled, "Thanks."

Dick shrugged. He could sense that Kory had a lot of question, of course she did! But she didn't seem comfortable asking them. Maybe she was just feeling overwhelmed. It had been so long since he had interacted with a human that he had forgotten how to sense their emotions. He decided maybe he should make her feel more comfortable. What was it humans liked?

"So," he started slowly "how about that Taylor Swift."

"Where are you taking me?" Kory asked completely ignoring his attempts at small talk.

"We're going to see Raven at the compound. You'll get to meet other members of the order and she'll explain everything you need to know." He explained.

"And where is this base exactly?"

"It's hidden away." He said vaguely.

She groaned. Great, now she was going to be stuck in this car for God knows how long with this vampire. This is not the way she had planned to start her post graduate life.

"Dick?" Kory said turning towards him for the first time since they had gotten in the car. "How old are you."

He laughed slightly. "For all intents and purposes I'm twenty-two."

"How old are you in actuality?"

Dick's smile faded. "I'm very, very old."

"So how does that work, being a vampire? Are you like dead or… what's the deal with that?"

Dick sighed. "It's like having two lives. Your human life is your first life, and then if in that life if a vampire decides to turn you, you enter your second life. You don't age. You don't get sick. You don't eat food. You just…exist. I guess."

Kory played with the hem of her sweat jacket. It was fascinating, but she didn't know anything about vampire etiquette. She wasn't sure what was appropriate to ask and what wasn't. Screw it. She didn't ask to go on this little road trip. She didn't ask to get pulled into this world; she would ask whatever she damn well pleased.

"You said a vampire has to 'make you', what is that like? I thought that all you had to do was get bitten by a vampire and you would turn." She said.

Dick snorted. "Who told you that? Edward Cullen?"

"Well _sorry_." Kory snapped. "It's not like I had a vampire friend to consult with me on mythological stereotypes."

"I apologize" Dick said with a small laugh. "No, it's not like that, not exactly. Vampires are very conspicuous and our species is exceptionally small in numbers. For a vampire to turn a human they have to feel some sort of joining. If the joining is true and the bite is made then you become turned. If no joining is made and a human is bitten, they will die."

"So someone had to turn you?" Kory watched Dick slowly nodded his head. "What about the vampire that turned you? Who are they?"

Dick shrugged. "My maker," he said tightly "is still around."

"Oh." Kory could tell he didn't like that particular topic matter and decided to change the subject. "Do you guys drink blood or that another stereotype?"

If Dick were still alive his cheeks would have flushed. A look of absolute shame passed across his face and he winced visibly. "That one is true."

Kory's blood ran cold. Dick seemed to sense this and flashed her a reassuring smile.

"It's purely sustenance, just for survival. Most of us don't even kill humans in the process-"

"Most of you?" Kory interjected. "That's comforting."

"Kory, I'm not going to drink from you." Dick said bringing his attention back to the road.

Kory heard him mumble something under his breath but decided to let it go. In fact she was done with this conversation all together. She had acquired more than enough information for one hour thank you very much. Her head was swimming. She leaned her face against the cool glass, and dozed off. When she awoke it was dark outside. She couldn't see outside her window, only the road in front of the headlights.

The car bumped under the rocky and dry desert road. She could make out a few cactus plants and the outlines of large canyons in the distance. Eventually Dick made a turn and veered off the path. There were no street lights, road signs, or signs of life anywhere nearby. They continued down the remote desert road for a long while.

Kory began to get nervous. She was about to ask where they were when the car suddenly approached a large cast-iron fence. Dick pulled up to an intercom box

"Who is it?" An unknown male voice asked.

"Garfield, you know who it is. Open the gate." Dick said wearily.

"Do you know the password?" This Garfield character replied unable to stifle his amusement.

Dick sighed. "This is really stupid. Let me in."

"I'm afraid if you can't provide the password I cannot allow you to enter the premises. It would be a safety violation." He mocked.

Dick glanced at Kory and then back at the intercom box. "You are so immature." He heaved a deep breath. "Fine. Beautiful dirty dirty rich rich dirty dirty beautiful dirty rich."

A loud buzz noise erupted and the gates pulled open. Dick quickly pulled behind the gates. He drove a ways down a long, smooth driveway until the house came into view. Kory had seen a lot of mansions and a few palaces in her days, but even she let forth a gasp at the sight of the compound. It was a large, Spanish mansion. The compound was completely lighted indicating activity from within. Kory's mouth stood agape even as Dick parked right in front, exited the vehicle, and moved to open the passenger side door.

Kory felt herself having a hard time moving and her entire body was shaking. Dick steered her into the front hall. The inside was even more impressive than the outside. It was completely modernized and the upper level balcony overlooked the entire first floor.

"This is your house?" Kory's voice said in wonder.

"Well technically it's Raven house, but I do live here." He said. "We all do."

Dick asked Kory if she was thirsty and didn't wait for a response before leading her into the kitchen. Kory stopped short when she saw another person already seated at the granite island reading a book. It was that strange boy from the mall yesterday. He glanced up at Kory and returned to his book without giving much notice.

"Gabriel, don't be rude. Please say hello to Kory." Dick said as he searched the nearly completely empty refrigerator for a water bottle.

The boy, Gabriel, closed his book and placed it carefully on the table. "Hello, Kory Anders." His small voice said. "It's nice to see you again."

He stuck out his hand for a shake, which Kory accepted hesitantly. She noted his skin wasn't nearly as cold as Dick's. Under further examination she noted that his face held more color as well.

Kory took a seat at the table while Dick went to find Raven. She took a timid sip of her water and nervously glanced around the kitchen. She couldn't shake the distinct feeling that she was being watched. Gabriel's attention had returned to his book and Dick was nowhere in sight. Kory twisted around in her seat and kept a steadied eye on the door. Nothing. She took a deep breath before turning around.

Standing right in front of her across from the table was a pale, beautiful blonde haired young man. Kory yelped in surprise. She involuntarily threw herself backwards and fell out of her chair. She felt another pair of strong arms catch her before she hit the ground. She opened her previously closed eyes to face her savior.

"Well hi there little lady." His voice was friendly.

Kory felt instantly relaxed. His skin was the color a dusty dark brown. Were all vampires gorgeous?! He set Kory onto her feet.

"H…hi." Kory squeaked.

"The name's Victor, but you can call me Vic." He said forcing his powerful hand into hers. "And this green monster," He said directing her towards the blonde haired one that had sent her to the floor in the first place "Is Garfield."

"Hey, what's up." She said coming out of her latest state of shock.

"Nothing but the ceiling baby." Garfield replied.

She now recognized his voice as the one from intercom outside. Kory laughed politely.

His goofy smiled widened. "You laughed." He said incredulously. "See Gabriel she thinks I'm funny."

"Statistically speaking somebody has to." Gabriel said closing his book and disappearing up a flight of stairs.

"Ignore him." Garfield said without missing a beat. "He's just mad because he inherited his sense of humor from his mother. " Garfield suddenly sniffed the air. "Is-is that you?"

"What?" Kory said suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"You smell delicious." He added.

Kory tensed. She was actually glad when Dick reappeared in the doorway. His eyes were intense and his face was serious.

"The grand tour of the compound will have to wait." His said. "Raven would like to see you immediately."

Kory slowly moved from her chair. She noted the sudden seriousness of everyone's faces. Kory silently followed Dick down a long hallway. They stopped at the end of the hallway in front of large painting of beautiful, dark haired woman. Dick slid the portrait to the side which revealed and keypad. He tapped in a code quicker than Kory could see his fingers move. The keypad lit up, then the wall opened up. Dick led Kory inside. The wall closed behind her leaving her and Dick in complete darkness. Suddenly the space in front of them illuminated. It was another long hallway, except it was lit by rows of candles. Kory followed him until the finally reached a large red door.

Dick knocked quickly three times but didn't wait for a response to enter. The inside was much more modern than the outside. It was a large room with tall columns that looked entirely made out of marble. The low lights lit over a granite conference table surrounded by cushy desk chairs. Raven was seated at the head of the table. Her face looked completely blank.

"Kory Anders," she started. "You are very bad at following directions."

"Ugh…"

"Have a seat."

Both Dick and Kory took seats near the head of the table across from each other. It was then that Kory noticed the large, leather bound book in Raven's lap. It appeared to be ancient and although she only caught a glimpse of what was written on the pages she could see that it was written entirely in Latin. Raven shut the book and placed it in front of her. She was eerily silent for a moment.

"I had a vision of you Kory Anders." She said finally.

"Uh," Kory started unsure how she should respond to that. "O…kay? What does that mean?"

"Raven is the high priestess." Dick said lowly. "The only one of our kind."

"Oh." Kory said, still not sure what any of that was supposed to mean. "O…kay?"

"She has visions of the past, the present, and the future" he further explained.

"I have been practicing the art of divination for over a century now." Raven continued. "Shortly after I was turned I had a vision that coincided with a millennium old prophecy as written by the last high priestess. It said that the false prophet would rise and destroy us all."

"False prophet?" Kory said. "You mean like in the-"

"Book of Revelations?" Raven interjected. "Yes, it is very similar."

Raven and Dick exchanged a dark look. Kory looked between the two of them.

"I'm not sure I understand any of this." She said, shifting uncomfortably.

Dick attempted to reassure her with a half-smile. "Our apologies. We realize this is a lot for you to take in all at once. Let's go back to the beginning."

"The vampire race began over a four-thousand years ago." Raven said her voice sounding mystic underneath the mood lighting and thick air. "It is believed that Akasha of modern day Somalia is the progenitor or the first vampire. The Queen of the damned. Legend has it that she infected her tribe with the vampire gene which spread across the continent and later the world."

"The blood of the original tribe is especially powerful, but exceedingly rare." He glanced at Raven. "The bloodline may not even exist today-"

"Anyways-" Raven interrupted. "A descendent of Queen Akasha, Sophie-Anne became the first High Priestess. Over a thousand years ago she had a vision of the end of days, that said the beast will rise and destroy the vampire race and the false prophet will be its agent."

She paused to give Kory a moment to process this information. Kory remained silent and her face stone. Raven took that as an implication that she understood, or at least was listening.

"After I was turned I had a vision, a vision of that the false prophet would arrive. We have spent the past nearly hundred years searching for him."

It was at that moment that Kory became acutely aware that Dick and Raven's penetrating eyes were glued intensely on her. Her spine shot up straight and her blood ran cold.

"What, you think I'm the false prophet?" She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice.

"No." Dick assured her quickly. "That's not it at all."

"Then what?" Suddenly Kory was standing and her voice raised. "What does any of this have to do with me? Why did you bring here? Three days ago I didn't even know you people existed and here I am in a…in a…in a dungeon and you're going on and on about vampire prophecies and end of days! What do you want with me! Tell me!"

Raven and Dick remained silent after Kory's outburst. While Raven looked completely expressionless, Dick's face flashed with concern or maybe skepticism. Kory felt Dick's cold hand rest on her shoulder and gently push her back into her seat. Without a word she allowed herself to be pulled into her chair.

"Kory," his voice came barely above a whisper.

Kory raised her head in time to make eye contact with Dick. Between being attacked by vampires and being whisked away to the desert in the middle of the night she hadn't really realized how deep and blue his eyes were. Their light shone in contrast to his pale skin and she thought they were really quite beautiful. Her heart suddenly sped up. Unbeknownst to Kory at that exact moment Dick felt the same way.

Their brief moment of understanding was interrupted by the sound of Raven clearing her throat. The small smile on Dick's face fell and his head immediately snapped in her direction. Raven's scowl was directed at Dick and she had a scolding look on her face. Whatever she was thinking or feeling at that moment she temporarily ignored while she continued her prognostication.

"I brought you here Kory," she said slowly turning her eyes from Dick back to Kory "because recently I had a vision of you that said you might be our savior."

With that Kory was out of her seat again. "W-what!"

Raven stood up as well, she reached over and put her hand on top of Kory's. A sudden warmth spread within her. Raven's violet eyes pierced right through her and suddenly she felt much more relaxed. She slowly lowered herself back into her seat. Raven removed her hand and just as quickly as the warmth came it vanished. It was a surreal sensation.

"I-" Kory started attempting to remain calm. "I'm not sure I understand. I'm not a vampire. Up until last night I didn't even know vampires existed, how can_ I_ be the savior?"

Raven sighed. "I'm not sure. The visions they aren't always clear."

Kory took a deep breath. "And is it possible that maybe you misinterpreted this vision?"

Raven hesitated. "It's possible."

"But Raven is very rarely wrong about these types of things." Dick added. "Regardless we think that the false prophet is aware of your existence and has sent his army to destroy you."

"That's probably why you've been attacked." Raven said.

"But_ how_?" Kory said exasperated. "How can you possibly know all of this? And you said it yourself it might not even be me, and you don't know who this false prophet is."

"Yes, but we are very close to uncovering his identity." Dick said.

"Kory, I wish I had all the answers." Raven said sincerely. "I wish I had the answers to all these questions which my kind has been asking for hundreds of years. I had vision. All I have left now is my faith. You'll have to have some too."

Kory was beyond words. After everything she had just been told, there wasn't much she could say. This had been without a doubt the most overwhelming two days of her life.

"It isn't safe for you to return home tonight." Raven explained.

"But we'll do everything in our power to protect you." Dick supplemented. "Tomorrow we'll install the charm on your property and that should keep you safe. We'll all do patrols in your neighborhood. You will be safe. In the meantime you'll spend the night here."

"No." Kory said. "I don't want to spend the night here. I want to go home."

"I promise you there is no safer place in the world right now, trust me."

Kory pulled her suddenly heavy body out of her chair and dragged herself into the hallway, Dick right behind her.

"Richard," Raven's voice stopped him. "Can I have a word with you?"

Dick stiffened quiet visibly. He told Kory to meet him back in the main house and promised this would only take a second. He dreaded the moment the heavy doors to the conference hall closed behind her.

"Richard." She said again.

"Yes?" He turned around an innocent smile played on his lips. Raven did not seem amused.

"From now on I want to Victor to be Kory's primary guardian." She said.

"What! Why?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I know you Dick and I saw the way you looked at her. You have a bleeding heart for humans."

"I am perfectly capable of doing my job." He snapped.

"I know you are." She countered unaffected by the sudden malice in his tone. "But you have a weakness. It has not been forgotten what happened the last time.

A ripple of anger flowed through him. How dare she bring that up! He inhaled deeply before continuing struggling to keep his voice even. "Raven, with all due respect, that was a long time ago."

"Not long enough." She challenged.

"Don't tell me what's long enough!" His hands slammed down on the table. "I can't un-do what happened." His said calmer. "No matter how much I wish I could."

Raven remained unflinching, her eyes never leaving Dick's face.

Raven was still a relatively young vampire, and unlike many others she could remember her human emotions. She empathized with Dick she could sense his loneliness as long as they had known each other.

She sighed deeply. "Fine. You may remain with her for now. But if I feel like you are getting to close…"

"Thank you, Raven. I appreciate it." He grumbled moving back towards the door.

"One more thing." She called to him again.

He groaned. "Yes?" He said impatiently.

She stood up her dark hair falling around her. "How goes the search? Did you find anything that I asked?"

Dick reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "As it turns out Sophie-Anne lived in the Paris area a thousand years ago."

He handed Raven copy of an antique transcript. Her eyes quickly scanned over it. "And what about the DNA?" She said hurried without looking up from the paper.

Dick shrugged. "Word around the circuit is that a lock of hair or a heart of something is being kept by a member of the Van Helsing."Raven sighed in discontent. "But, I have a mole who might be willing to retrieve it…for a price."

"Whatever the cost." Raven said. "Dick, I really appreciate this."

He shrugged again. "Raven, is there any reason why the heart of Sophie-Anne is so important to you? It's just a little strange…even for us."

"I just…I was just wondering…"She struggled to find the words. "It's just important to me."

"Okay." He said.

Dick had known Raven for many years and was almost immune to her mysterious and enigmatic ways. He had learned not to question it, even trusted in it, but still every now and again he couldn't help but wonder about the method of her madness. He shook the thought from his mind, deciding to let it drop as he entered the long hallway the door closing behind him.

His mind was driven forcefully back to not too long ago when he felt himself connecting with Kory. There was an unfamiliar swelling in his chest. He was painfully reminded of how long it had been since he had made such a supernatural connection with anyone.

It was then that Raven's words echoed tauntingly in his mind. _You have a bleeding heart for humans. You have a weakness. _

He became somewhat angry all over again. He understood that Raven held an immense responsibility to the vampire race, and was just doing what was best for them. It wasn't really fair for him to be mad at her for that. Over a hundred years since it had happened, still his greatest humiliation. No. His greatest shame.

The memories flooded him. He shook them from his mind.

"Stop it." He whispered to himself as the emotions began to overwhelm him.

He stopped short of the entrance of the main house. He was completely unnerved by Raven's warning, and terrified by the validity of it. He denied Raven's folly. The event had happened before she was even born, how could she possibly know the true extent of what he had done? It startled him. The connection with Kory, it was unquestionably similar to how it started the last time.

_No. _

Things would be different this time. He was worrying over nothing. The brief moment he shared with Kory had been nothing more the fulfillment of the companionship he had been missing for so long.

Dick continued on towards the house where Kory was waiting for him. Yes, it had been a long time ago. But not so long that he had forgotten or even forgiven himself. It had been a deadly mistake one he vowed to never make ever again.

* * *

Yeah, I'm super sorry about taking 2 months to update. I wrote a third chapter and didn't like it so I had to start over and then I got overwhelmed with school, even now there's a ton of homework I should be doing but whatever. I know I didn't reveal too much in this chapter but I'm setting up a couple of mysteries.


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